


GinTae Drabble

by ailithpenninor



Category: Gintama
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Romantic Fluff, fluff ending, midnight talks, shared love for sweets, subtle fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 01:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15741036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ailithpenninor/pseuds/ailithpenninor
Summary: Late night GinTae talks and fluff based onthis beautiful fanartby, @andbeeart on Tumblr





	GinTae Drabble

**Author's Note:**

> This is due for a few edits so, please excuse any spelling, grammatical or other errors for now. 
> 
> Huge thank you to the artists of this amazing fandom for always producing quality fanart and to the writers for writing some awesome fics!

Gintoki sighed irritably as he stashed away the low table and cushions. Damn that Kagura… Eating all the meat and then passing out immediately afterwards. She really did have a crazy appetite, he had had to make do with some bland broth and mushrooms on account of her. He reached for the pull string, extinguishing the only remaining light in the room and was about to head out onto the engawa when he noticed Tae’s silhouette heading in the same direction.

Turning on the spot, he made his way to the kitchen instead and brewed a small pot of tea which he loaded onto a wooden tray along with two cups. As he walked through the dark house, he noticed that the smell of braised meat and oil still hung faintly in the air. It was their monthly sukiyaki night, a meagre luxury they allowed themselves when Tae’s monthly bonus came through. Just the four of them – Tae, Gintoki, Kagura and Shinpachi. Tae would always complain about how they never allowed her to cook but, the trio knew better than to let her near their rare treat. It always proved to be a lively affair with all four of them competing over the meal but, today had been surprisingly uneventful.

Shinpachi was staying the night at a friend’s place in Yokohama to attend Otsuu’s first concert outside Edo and the two adults felt particularly indulgent toward Kagura, letting her easily grab the most delicious bits of meat and have the largest portion of rice without putting up a fight. Kagura in turn gorged herself and revelled in having the complete, undivided attention of both her parental figures, regaling them with tales about her favourite dramas and new friends.

Tae was sitting exactly where he expected her to be, on the eastern engawa, facing the small but well-kept garden. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail, falling to her waist in a cascade of brown. She leaned against a pillar on her left as her legs dangled playfully over the edge. Gintoki set the tray down beside her and lowered himself onto the engawa, leaning against another pillar and dangling one leg over the edge. Silently, Tae poured tea into both the cups. Pushing one toward him, she folded her hands around the other and brought it to her lips gingerly. The tea was just the right temperature and had the same subtle flavour she had grown accustomed to after several evenings spent like this. Gintoki sighed contently as he sipped the tea and watched a gentle breeze move through the trees in the garden. Her soft voice broke the comfortable silence between them.

“I found Sa-chan in my attic again today. I think she spent the night there so, I gave her a hot meal and threw her out. Speaking of the attic, I’m pretty sure there’s some rats living there judging by the chewed up poki wrappers I found. I left some rat poison up there but, I don’t know where they’re coming from.”

“Hmm… I’m not doing anything on Friday, I’ll take a look at the attic then. I think it might be all your nasty stalkers leaving food in their crawl spaces that’s attracting the rats. But getting rid of them is probably harder than getting rid of the rats,” he replied running his fingers through his curly hair.

Tae chuckled softly, “That’s true, isn’t it? Wonder what I should do…” she trailed off.

“Anything interesting happen at work recently?” he asked, sipping the tea again.

“Nothing particularly interesting. Kondo-san showed up at opening time as usual but, the Shinsengumi dragged him away pretty soon on some secret mission. Two more girls quit yesterday so, the rest of us have been taking on more customers than usual. There’s also been some shady looking government folk who frequent the place more often. I just can’t shake the feeling that trouble is brewing in Edo, there’s this fragile sense of calm throughout the city, like it’s about to shatter and chaos is going to break out at any second”, she paused, hoping he would answer her unsaid question.  

“Hmm…” Gintoki replied, showing no sign of having noticed her unspoken question, “Did you buy any Bargain Dash?”

“Ahh, yes, there’re a few cups in the freezer. I got the new flavour, caramel-something and strawberry cheesecake,” Tae set her cup down and turned to him, a serene smile on her face, “I want the caramel one, please.”

“Seriously… were you raised in the palace or something? Ordering me around like this…” he grumbled even as he stood up and made his way back to the kitchen. This girl really did order him about a lot, calling on him every time Shinpachi’s behaviour turned strange but, more so when she never spoke a word, standing brave and tall to face the world on her own. Still, he knew deep down that there was no way he could refuse any request from her – spoken or unspoken. He would go to the ends of the universe to protect that smile, that same serene smile that had prompted him to bring her ice cream.

“Here,” he said, setting the caramel ice cream down beside her silent form, “I’m taking three of the strawberry cheesecake ones as payment for services rendered. “

When she made no protest, he leaned over to get a better look at her face. Just as he suspected, Tae had dozed off against the pillar, her body was completely relaxed and her breathing even and slow. She showed no sign of stirring and Gintoki knew that any attempt to carry her to her room would result in an extended visit to the hospital.

It wasn’t a cold night but there was a distinct chill in the air, the autumn wind had just begun to turn. He replaced the ice cream in the freezer and went looking for a quilt in the living room cupboards but found nothing. Briefly, Gintoki considered checking in her room but that felt vaguely invasive. Besides it was on the other side of the compound, he told himself.

“Oh well, it’s not like I have a choice”, he mumbled.

Undoing his belt and obi, he removed his kimono and picked up two seating cushions from the cupboard. Returning to the engawa, he placed his belt, obi and bokuto on the tea tray, pushing it aside and sliding the door shut. Gintoki gingerly slipped a cushion between her head and the pillar, and gently enfolded her in his still warm kimono. Tae whispered softly in her sleep, angling her head into the cushion. She looked beautiful as she slept, the diffused moonlight creating soft shadows beneath her lashes and giving her skin a soft, luminescent glow.

He watched her sleep as he listened to the muted sounds of the city floating up on the cool night air. The distant wail of a siren, the ever-present hum of traffic, the distinct rattle of railway cars on their tracks; none of them seemed to disturb her. It was like she had closed her eyes and drifted away to a distant land where none of life’s responsibilities could touch her. In a different world, where there had been no war and no amanto… would he have ever met her? Probably not, he realised.

Gintoki suddenly felt exhausted. Sighing heavily, he tossed the remaining cushion against the other pillar and lay down on the engawa. He knew he was not going to get a comfortable night’s sleep on the hardwood floor. Then again, he couldn’t just leave Tae out in the cold on her own. Crossing his arms against his chest, Gintoki stretched his legs so that his feet fell just short of her hip and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overcome him. The things I do for you guys he thought to himself as he drifted away.

When he came to the next morning, she was gone but an extra cushion propped his head up and his kimono was tucked carefully around him. He smiled contently and snuggled further into the cushions as a flush of warmth flooded his stiff body.

“Aah, it sure is nice to have the sun warm you up in the morning,” he whispered, rolling over to face the overcast sky.


End file.
